Biscuits and Groovy - after groupons

We bought 3 groupons for Biscuits and Groovy when it came out because the first time we were pretty impressed with at least one of our orders.  Now we have used all three and it is safe to say that their biscuits and gravy are not that great.  The people working there are really nice and they did try, but no.  We ordered the Johnny Hash, the Gloria Gaynor, the Donna Summer and the burrito.  We usually had the problem of the biscuits being undercooked, to the point of being doughy and one time eating a bit of flour.  We always had the problem of the cheese not being melted, even when we said we were in no hurry and could wait as long as it took for the cheese to melt, ps they were using Veggie Shreds instead of Daiya today, not sure if that's permanent.  We usually had the problem of not enough gravy and sometimes not enough ingredients, just a small strip down the middle.  We often had the problem of missing ingredients, they would charge us the $9 for the Gloria Gaynor but leave off the tofu scramble, the second cheese, the bacon and the chives.. well then you don't even quite have the $7 Village biscuit.  Then they would tell us you have to specify that you still want them to put the vegan version on rather than just taking the meat version off, but today we specified each thing and they looked at us like we're crazy and still no second cheese.  The first time we specified that we want the biscuits extra cooked they actually made them brown and they were perfect, today when we asked we just got the regular undercooked kind.  We did actually get a decent amount of gravy today though, enough where you could actually taste the bootlegger ale.  Now, for the only reason we may ever be back, the burrito!  You still run into the same problem of them just leaving off ingredients, maybe they think you won't notice?  It is darn good though.  It is a reasonable $4 for any ingredient you want, wrapped in a tortilla.  We ordered every vegan ingredient on the menu except jam both times but the first time one of the ingredients they left off was the soyrizo so it was a different flavor.  The first one was more like the biscuits but with way less carbs and the cheese was able to melt completely, plus we didn't add salsa.  The second one we did add salsa to kick it up but didn't realize what the soyrizo would add so it was spicy a very yummy.  They had obviously left out the gravy and a bunch of other stuff because with 10 ingredients it was still skinny, but it was more of a mexican breakfast burrito and the first one was American?  Either way it was good and you feel like you are actually getting what you want for a smaller price than the most popular items.  So we may be back, especially since we have some %50 off coupons from Scoutmob and they are adding some new items soon.

Still Recommended
 

Maggiano's, Gypsy Lounge, Copa Bar and Grill

Yes, it was an expensive weekend, but it was our 7 year 4 month dating monthiversary or 1 year 11 month wedding monthiversary.  Plus it was Easter, which turned out to be the most expensive day ever.  

Copa Bar and Grill
So for our monthiversary we decided to use a groupon to Copa Bar and Grill.  The dinner menu did not seem that veg friendly, but the lunch one did so we figured they could accommodate.  While they can accommodate they do not offer items from the lunch menu at dinner.  So we had to make something up.  Well we made up the most stupendous dish you could imagine.  Our initial reaction was, how sad this place is empty on a Saturday night.  Then we got out free chips and salsa and they were not good, then we ordered guacamole and it consisted of a few small scoops on a bed of iceberg lettuce.  It tasted old and flavorless and so we were a little worried.  The drinks were OK to start off with but really expensive.  We tried paradise, pisco smash, and a long island, blech.  The fact that we were the only people in the restaurant was pretty awkward since everyone took turns checking up on us every 5 minutes.  Then magic happened.  Miguel ordered the best drink on the face of the Earth, the Spicy Manguito.  It was soooo good, it has fresh mint, a lot of limes, mango rum and mango juice with a spicy/sweet rim.  Then dinner came out and more magic ensued.  We ordered the veggie mole enchiladas, which are not on the menu but we just asked for them with rice and beans and got it.  Even better, they did not charge us $13 for the chicken enchiladas and just subtract the chicken, they actually brought down the price to less than $9.  Anyway, they were stuffed with sauteed spinach and the corn tortillas were thick and durable and so delectable.  The sauce was perfect and even the vegetable filled rice was amazing.  We were so happy with our meal we almost got another.  Overall, we will be back not only because we have more groupons but because we thoroughly enjoyed the food and would even put it up there with some of the "bests" in Austin, best latin food.  They seemed to be Brazilian or something.  Next time we will have mods though and order just the spicy manguito and 2 entrees, yum!

Recommended
http://www.copabarandgrill.com/

Gypsy Lounge

This was our first Easter without our families so we were a little lost.  Shannon did a google search to find out what Austin vegan's do on Easter and the only thing that came up was a Sunday brunch at the Gypsy Lounge.  It was called biscuits and beer, so obviously we thought it was perfect.  It was cash only, and $8 bought you 2 vegan biscuits, a vegan sausage patty, loads of vegan gravy, all you can squeeze strawberry preserves and a lone star tall boy.  It was an amazing Easter morning, even if we did have to wait until 11AM to eat.  The biscuits were fluffy and delicious, they tasted like kfc biscuits but were double the size.  Shannon got some bloody mary mix and made a Michelada out of the lone star which was delish.  Then we had some poinsettia's, champagne and cranberry to top off the perfect morning.  We will definitely be doing this again soon, the cook, Kitty, was so nice, she even gave us more biscuits when we left.

Recommended
http://do512.com/event/2011/04/24/happy-easter-biscuits-n-beer-brunch

Maggiano's

After the perfect brunch we went to meet up with Shannon's aunt and uncle at Maggiano's for an Easter lunch.  The place is gorgeous, the decor is intricate and authentic.  The service was great, very upscale.  The choices for vegans were pretty limited and confusing and this does not seem to be a place that "gets it."  Miguel ordered spaghetti with vegetables, they don't have a vegetable medley so you have to choose which veggies you want and they will charge you a couple dollars per vegetable.  Shannon tried to order the same thing with white wine sauce, but the server came back and said it had butter in it.  So then she switched to stuffed mushrooms and here is where the server went south.  He decided, forget what you want to order, the  executive chef decided he will prepare a delicious meal.  We assumed he would be making some form of the stuffed mushrooms Shannon had ordered but he did not.  He literally made the exact same thing Miguel ordered but without any sauce.  It was just dry noodles with a few veggies.. what?  Obviously that was already an option but not an appealing one, hence we did not order it, so he decides he will "make us something special" and this is it?  The best (worst) part is he still charged us for each individual vegetable even though we didn't order it.  So even though the base price for spaghetti included meat they would not replace the meat with veggies, we just paid for both.  It was insane, 2 plates of spaghetti ended up being $40 and they were not even good.  Come on, dry noodles and vegetables? we could make that at home.  It was not a good lunch.. very disappointing.  Will definitely not be back.

Not recommended